


Tucker, the Pianist

by iikittens



Category: South Park
Genre: Arguing, Drama, Family Issues, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Piano, Rivals to Lovers, Romance, Tutoring, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-11-19 14:44:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11315580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iikittens/pseuds/iikittens
Summary: Tweek and Craig declared each other rivals in the fifth grade. Ever since, they hardly spoke a word to each other, unless it was a rude remark. But when Tweek wants to learn piano, he only has one choice of a tutor.But as the two grow closer, a certain person isn't very pleased.





	1. Chapter One

Walking through crowded hallways full of people trying each trying to get around is never fun. Everyone's trying to get to their own destinations, and they will get there, even if it means running. Luckily for me, I only bumped into three people today. Unluckily for me, the third person was the one and only Craig-fucking-Tucker. 

I looked up to meet his eyes. When he saw me, his face formed a scowl, and I returned one. 

"Tweek." he said monotonously, despite his angry expression.

"Craig." I replied with the same tone

We kept our glaring match going until someone called for him. As Craig brushed past me, I noticed Clyde, Token and Jimmy, his closest friends, giving him friendly gestures. 

I turned back around and continued my path to my locker. Though the whole way, I couldn't help but continuously glance back at them.

* * *

 At lunch, I sat with my friends (or as we like to call ourselves, the social rejects). There was Kevin Stoley, Jason, Francis and Scott Malkinson.

I sat in my normal seat next to Kevin, who I had recently grown closest to. The group was talking about Disney and Star Wars (or something, I wasn't really listening) while I poked at my food, contemplating many things at once. 

Kevin seemed to notice, since he tapped my shoulder and asked if I was okay.

I nodded in response, continuing my food assault. I was completely tuned out of the others' conversation, until I heard someone say Craig.

My head jerked upwards to hear. I noticed they were all looking at me, expecting.

"Um... sorry, what?" I asked

"Craig is totally staring you down." replied Jason

I turned around to look at the table closest to us. The people seated there were Craig, Clyde, Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and Stan.

Sure enough, Craig was staring blankly in my direction. When I shot him a scowl, his expression hardly changed, but I noticed his lips quirk slightly upwards. He dropped his gaze and replied to a question Cartman asked.

"Stop giving each other googly eyes, there are children around." joked Kevin

"Just because you can't get a date doesn't mean you're a child." I retorted

Kevin scoffed, then changed the subject again. I definitely wasn't paying attention this time. 

 When I decided I was bored enough (and my food was completely poked to death) I excused myself and left the cafeteria. 

I headed to the music room, then turned the knob. It was locked. I figured the music teacher was on lunch break as well, so I dug a key out of my pocket and used it to unlock the door. I once worked in the office and they lent me a spare key, but they never asked me to return it. 

My eyes settled on the grand piano on the far right of the room. I picked up a random music book and set it up. 

I tried to imitate the notes on the first page myself, but the notes got all jumbled, and I repeatedly forgot about the key signature, and it frustrated me to the point that I had to bite my hand to prevent myself from screaming in anger. 

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a chuckle from the music room's door.

I immediately began shaking and twitching violently, jerking my head towards the noise. 

"Craig!" I hissed

"Wow, you're awful." he smirked

"Shut up. I can't help it." I looked down at my shaking hands.

"If you're referring to your twitching, then you're lying. You didn't start shaking until you heard me."

I was silent for a moment. "I didn't think anyone noticed."

"Did you finally quit drinking coffee like it was oxygen?"

"I'm working on it."

I then realized that we were meant to hate each other, so I morphed my face into a scowl. "Want me to help?" he offered

"Yeah right, _you_  play piano." 

He rolled his eyes and started towards the piano. "Move over." he ordered

I glared at him for the rudeness, but scooted off the piano bench anyway. 

He began playing a tune that I recognized. I couldn't quite pin it, though. His hands moved from note to note fluently. The way he played it was truly beautiful. Not that I'd ever admit that.

When the song ended, he looked up at me with an eyebrow raised. 

"Well?" he asked

I rolled my eyes. "That's unfair, you have big piano hands." 

He held his hand up to compare it to mine. He pressed our palms together, but I jerked it away. He sighed. "Or I've been playing for my whole life."

"How did it never come up while we were friends that you played piano?" 

He shrugged. "It wasn't much to brag about back then. I'm sure the guys would make fun of me." 

There was silence between us. I didn't know how to reply. 

He then stretched. "Well, want me to tutor you?"

I glared at him. "What makes you think I would ever want you to tutor me?" 

"Because you suck and I rule." 

I scoffed at his childishness. 

"So? How about it?" 

I paused to consider it. "Meet me here when the last bell rings."

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a maybe. If you play your cards right."

I grabbed the music book from the stand and placed it where I found it. "Where are you going?" he asked when I was at the door. 

I looked at him, then the door. "I don't know. Far from you, I guess." I replied honestly 

He nodded and started playing the piano again. I exited the room, but stayed right outside, just to hear him play. 

After he stopped playing, I decided to spend the rest of lunch period in the library, all the while trying to decide whether or not I wanted Craig to tutor me.

I hated the fact that I was almost certain I did.

* * *

When the last bell had rang, I had nearly completely forgotten about my plan to meet Craig. 

Almost. 

I put my books away and, as quickly as I could, made my way to the music room. 

Sure enough, he was in there, leaning back in a chair, chatting with the music teacher. When he heard me enter, his gaze shifted to me. I felt myself tug at my collar anxiously under his intimidating eyes. When he noticed, his expression softened.

"Hey." he greeted me calmly

"Hey dude." I replied quietly

 "Have you made a decision?" 

I narrowed my eyes at his odd politeness. Polite for Craig, anyway. "I guess." 

"Well?" 

I let out a long sigh. "Yeah, fine." 

He nodded, lips slightly quirking up into a smile. I narrowed my eyes again. When he noticed, his expression immediately dropped. He had the same dead look in his eyes. "Then let's practice at my house." he stood up, grabbing his bag. 

"What, right now?" 

"Yeah." 

"Oh, let me call my mom first."

He scoffed.

"I just want her to know where I am if I get murdered!" 

"Murdered?"

I ignored him and dialed my mom's cell phone number. I stepped out of the music room into the empty halls. She picked up almost immediately. 

"Hello?" she greeted

"Hey, mom."

"Oh, hello Tweek. What is it?"

"I'm going to be late getting home today. I'm visiting a friend."

"How nice. That's fine, just be home before five. Who are you visiting?" 

I hesitated before responding. "Craig."

"Oh, you're back together, that's wonderful!" 

"No, mom—"

"This is so exciting! I'm happy for you,—" 

I hung up before she could finish. I saw Craig from the corner of my eye leaving the music room. I sent my mom a quick text as an excuse, then put my phone away in my pocket. 

"Ready to go?" he asked

I nodded and followed him as he headed to the exit of the school. 

When we were outside, I saw Kevin approaching us. He looked at us suspiciously. 

 "What's this?" he asked carefully

"It's a Craig." I replied sarcastically

"Oh, I thought it was a robot." when Craig flipped him off, he only laughed. "I was going to ask if you wanted to come over tonight, for a movie marathon with the other social rejects." 

"Oh..." I looked up at Craig. He glanced down at me, uninterested. "I already have plans. Sorry." I felt myself start shaking from the pressure. 

Kevin placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Okay! Come visit tomorrow. We're having a sleepover. No excuses!" I nodded. "See you then!" 

He ran off to meet with the group of friends who were visiting tonight. Craig began walking again, and I followed close behind. After a while, he spoke up. 

"You have strange friends." 

"I'm strange too." I pointed out

"I don't think you are." 

 "Thanks. I think. But I don't think they're strange either." 

"They spend their free time talking about movies and fangirling over merchandise and figurines, instead of going outside or socializing." 

"You flip people the bird instead of socializing." 

"Whatever. My point is, you don't seem to be the type of person to fit in with those types of people." 

"I don't fit in with anyone. We're friends, that's all. We don't have to be the same to get along." 

 "But you and I are complete opposites and we hate each other." 

I thought I heard myself mumble "I don't hate you", but he didn't address it. 

When we got to his house, he opened the front door slowly. He peeked inside then opened it wider. He stepped inside, and I followed quietly. We took off our shoes and he threw his blue coat and chullo hat on to the couch arm. I took that moment to appreciate his shiny black hair. Although, he seemed to have dyed the under side of his hair blond. 

He led me upstairs to his room. When we were in there, I noticed his younger sister, Ruby, sprawled out on his bed. He didn't greet her, he only walked right to his piano, which was by the window at the back of the room. I quickly looked down at Ruby, and saw her arm was over her eyes, and she had headphones on. Craig seemed to notice, since he said:

"Just ignore her. She always sits there." 

I nodded and walked over to him. He patted the empty space next to him on the bench, so I sat down. 

"So how much do you know?" he asked

"Not much. I only started playing a couple days ago." 

He nodded and his fingers placed themselves over a few notes. "Then let's start with a beginner's song." 

* * *

 After an hour and a half, I decided it was time for me to head home. Since it was practically summer, at 4:30 the sun was still shining bright, despite the snow on the ground that never seemed to melt. 

Craig was leaned against the door frame as I sat on the porch, pulling my shoes on. When I stood up, Craig grabbed my shoulder, making me jump a foot in the air. 

"Gah! What is it?" I asked shakily 

"Dont spaz out, damn. I just..." he dragged his hand over his face. "I want to apologize for... what happened." 

My eyebrows raised in surprise. When what he said sunk in, I looked down. "You know I can't hold a grudge against you." I pointed out

I didn't wait for a response, I just turned on my heel and headed home.


	2. Chapter Two

When I got home, my mom was cooking dinner. She greeted me cheerfully and I returned it. 

"Supper will be ready in a few minutes!" she sang

I nodded and pulled my shoes off without untying them. I couldn't stand the idea of letting them stay tied less than three knots. What if they came loose while I was walking down stairs and I tripped and cracked my head? Shoelaces are the sneakiest criminals. 

I blinked myself out of my downward spiraling thoughts. I was always told to focus on happy things, rather than the things that gave me paranoia. Needless to say, I wasn't very good at that. Especially when I was stuck hanging out with Stan's group for a while. 

I turned on the TV, and  _of course_ the news was on. The reporter was talking about a recent attack at an airport. I suddenly remembered why I refused to take an airplane, ever. Even if the apocalypse came to South Park (which wouldn't surprise me, given all the crazy shit that happens here) I would refuse to take a plane, even if it was the only way to escape. 

"In other news, a criminal has broken out of jail. His name is—" I quickly turned off the TV. I couldn't handle all this worrying over being killed. 

Instead of watching the TV, I instead decided to play a phone game and text Kevin. When he responded to my first text, he was already urging me to talk about Craig. I decided to ignore him after that. 

When my mom announced that supper was ready, I abandoned my phone and joined her at the table. When we were seated, she didn't wait long before starting a conversation. 

"So..." I already knew this wasn't going to be good. "How's Craig?" 

I let out a heavy sigh. I knew it. "He's still an asshole." 

"Language, Tweek. And if you don't like him, why were you with him for over an hour?" 

"Because... he's teaching me something." 

"What is it?" 

"It doesn't matter." 

"Well, I'm happy you two are getting along again." before he could retort, she added "When you broke up, you were so sad." 

"I've already told you, me and him were never dating." 

She gave him a sly grin. "That's what you think." 

I rolled my eyes and kept my mouth shut for the rest of dinner. 

* * *

 After another night I spent the whole of trying to fall asleep, I was exhausted. I never seemed to able to get any sleep, and when I did, I would always get a nightmare. I came to the conclusion that the former was preferable. 

Too tired to bother attempting to button up a shirt, I just pulled on a green T-shirt, jeans and the first  socks I could find, which just so happened to be mis-matched.

I gave in to my urge and drank a cup of coffee. For energy, I told myself. My mom had already left for work, so I headed to the bus stop after putting on my boots. There were already a few kids there, who I decided weren't worth starting a conversation with. 

Just as the bus was pulling up, Craig showed up. I didn't know if I should greet him, so I ignored him and stepped on the bus. I quickly took the empty spot next to Kevin. He looked at me, then gave me a dirty look. 

"What is it?" I asked worriedly

"You ignored me yesterday." 

"You were asking about—" I froze as the person we were talking about walked past us, taking the seat behind us next to Clyde. 

Kevin huffed and crossed his arms. 

"Sorry, okay?" 

He didn't budge. So I added in a whisper: 

"I'll talk about it tonight at the sleepover." 

He seemed satisfied with that, since he started to excitedly talk about the movie marathon he had had with the group. 

Many "you should have been there" and "I can't believe you missed that"s were thrown in, making me gradually lose interest. 

At the school, we walked off together then went our separate ways. I decided to spend the small amount of time I had before the first bell rang in the music room. I wanted to get as much practicing done, since I didn't have a piano at home. 

When I got there, the music teacher was (luckily) not there yet. However, right as I sat down at the piano, Craig decided to take a seat next to me, without saying anything. 

"Normal people say hello." I pointed out

He looked down at me and scoffed. "Hello." he said. I was almost certain he was trying to sound annoyed, but he didn't pull it off with his nasally and monotone voice. 

I smiled a little. "Hey."

He only glared at me, making me glare back. "Don't try making angry faces, you look like a puppy." I scowled at him. 

"Don't try sounding angry, you sound like a robot!" I retorted 

"Do you want to play piano or not?" 

My gaze dropped to the piano. I couldn't come up with words bitter enough that still made me sound like I wanted to, so I just nodded. 

"Finally. Let's continue where we left off." 

He attemtping guiding my fingers to the specific notes, but I yanked my fingers out of his grasp. "I'm not a child." I stated "Just tell me the notes." 

He held his hands out in surrender and read out notes to me. I played as he talked, while he looked for a beginners' music book. After a while, he gave up. Not long after that, the music teacher walked in and told us to get to class. 

After we got kicked out, Craig started going the opposite way I would, so I grabbed his coat to stop him. He noticed and turned around. 

"What?" 

I took my hand away and fiddled with my fingers anxiously. "Normal people... say goodbye." 

He pressed his lips together, unamused. "Goodbye." 

I nodded happily and waved goodbye to him, walking towards my locker. 

I grabbed my books and headed to my first class. When I got there, the only person there seemed to be Kenny McCormick. He was in his seat, very concentrated on folding origami. 

I took my seat, which was one seat to the right and one in front to his. He looked up at me and waved. I returned the gesture, and he went back to folding. I opened my book and just stared at it until Kenny spoke up. 

"I died again yesterday. It was another interesting way, one you'd never even think of." he said quietly

"Sorry, what?" 

"Huh? Oh, ignore that. I was talking to... myself." 

I nodded slowly, then turned my head back around to the book. I admit, I was a little afraid. From what I could tell, he was talking to his origami bird. It made me fear for his sanity. What if he had an episode and decided to kill me? What if... 

My mind thought of all the horrible things an insane person could do. 

"Dude, you're shaking like crazy." 

I looked back at him, and Kenny now looked worried for  _me_. I almost laughed at the irony. "Sorry." 

"Don't apologize. No reason to." 

I nodded and looked down. 

"Sorry if I freaked you out just now. I don't have any people to talk to about some things, so I resort to... inanimate objects." 

I frowned in pity. "You can talk to me," I offered 

"No, you wouldn't believe the things I say." 

"I believe a lot of things. Try me." 

At this point, some kids were piling in. Kenny looked worried for half a second. "How about we talk at lunch?" he asked

I nodded and he grinned. I was half excited and half afraid of the things I was about to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoot, I'm adding these notes after publishing. Oh well lol.  
> I want to thank everyone for all the support I got after just posting the first chapter. I haven't gotten so much support or comments or anything on a story I wrote ever. So it means a lot! Thanks again!


	3. Chapter Three

After first period, Kenny and I made plans to meet outside the cafeteria. 

I was there now, avoiding the many people fighting their way to get in. I wasn't waiting long before a bony hand clasped around my wrist and dragged me away from the crowd. I took that moment to look him over. It was hard to tell with his big parka covering his entire torso, but he was bone-thin, but he was very tall. Almost as tall as Craig, but not quite. Craig seemed to be almost a foot taller than me, while Kenny was only a few inches taller. 

I was snapped out of my thoughts about height when Kenny stopped in his tracks. I looked around, and it seemed like we were off school property. 

"Okay, now you have to promise me that you won't freak out. And at least try to believe me." Kenny began

I nodded, beginning to wonder if this was worth the trouble. 

He took a deep breath. "I die. Almost every day." 

I gave him a confused look. "But you're right here. Still alive." 

"Right. I die, but I never  _stay_ dead." he paused before adding "But no one except for me remembers." 

Honestly, I was having trouble believing him. But instead of saying that, I asked "How did you die yesterday?"

"Huh? Oh..." he shuffled his feet. "I shouldn't say. It was..." he grimaced

"Tell me! I want you to have someone to talk to." he smiled at that. 

"I wasn't paying attention where I was going, so I bumped into a wall." that didn't seem to unbelievable, until "I was having trouble seeing, so I laid down on the couch. But it was apparently broken, 'cause a spring bounced up and stabbed me."

I felt a mixture of fear, disgust and confusion, and I'm sure my face showed it. 

"We stole that couch from the junkyard, I'm not surprised it broke." he mused 

"It seems like the couch hates you." 

He laughed bitterly. "It's not the couch that hates me." at my confused faced, he smiled. "Thanks for letting me tell you. Every time I tell my friends they think I'm trying to scare 'em or somethin'." 

"No worries. If you don't mind me asking... how else have you died?" 

He paused to think. "There's been so many... the first one I can think of... it was a long, painful death. I had a sickness and all of my friends visited me in the hospital. Except for that asshole Stan." 

"That sounds harsh." 

Kenny nodded and sighed. He then noticed something, since his head spun in the way we came from. 

"Busted." a familiar voice deadpanned. 

I turned around like Kenny and saw Craig standing there, face blank and hands in his pockets. 

"What are you two doing here?" 

"We're talking, dick." I stated 

"I noticed." 

"Why did you follow us?" 

Craig looked at Kenny. "Kenny may be a quiet kid, but he's trouble." 

Kenny scowled at him. "Fuck you, no I'm not!" 

"Craig, leave him alone! And dont follow me!" 

Craig rolled his eyes. Kenny glared at him. "No wonder Tweek hates you." scoffed the tall blond "See you later." 

Kenny patted my shoulder and walked in Craig's direction. They shared a dirty look then Kenny kept going towards the school. 

"Do you have a problem with Kenny, too?" I demanded "What the hell was that?" 

"He doesn't like being called trouble. Even though he is." 

"No he isn't! You are!" 

"Whatever." 

I scowled at his dismissive personality. "You should apologize to him." 

"Yeah right. I didn't even do anything that bad." 

"Well he obviously got upset so I don't really care if _you_ consider it bad or not." 

"Maybe I'll apologize. We'll see if I feel like it. Come on, let's go to the music room." 

"No." 

He glared at me. "You're not going to learn anything if you keep fighting me." 

"You're not going to get to teach me if you don't apologize to Kenny." 

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist. I protested and attempted pulling away, but he ignored me and tightened his grasp. We got to the front of the school, and Kenny was by the front door, chatting with Cartman and Butters. When he saw us, he waved to me, then flipped Craig off. Craig flipped him off too. 

"I'm not apologizing to that dick." 

"Then I'm not going to the music room." 

"Okay."

 He released my wrist and went to the school's entrance. "Hey!" I chased after him. "Wait up!" 

He turned his head around to see me, smirked, then entered the school. I stopped in my tracks. I refused to let him win. Instead, I went to Kenny and his friends. 

"Sorry about what Craig said." I apolgized 

The taller blond looked confused for a second. "I'm not that upset over what he  _said_." 

"Huh?" I met his eyes "Then why are you?" 

"Haven't you noticed? Craig is..." 

"I'm what?" the flat voice said from behind me. 

Kenny laughed. "You proved my point. Or, what I was about to say." 

"Aw look you guys," Cartman shook Butters "Tweek and Craig are in love again!" Butters smiled nervously

"Fuck off, fatass." Craig and I cursed 

"They're so cute." he cooed "And I'm not fat, I'm buff."

"No, you're fat. You're fat as fuck." said a new voice. As it turned out, it was Kyle. "I don't know what you're doing right now, but stop it." 

"Have some faith in me, Kahl, would you?" 

"Not a chance." 

Craig dragged me away from the argument, and into the school. 

When I didn't protest, he said "You're not fighting me?" 

"Kenny's not mad at what you said. Whatever you did, it's out of my hands. I assume." 

"Who even knows what that kid's thinking? He's always so quiet and suspicious." 

I didn't reply to that. "Why do you always follow me?" I asked instead 

He stopped walking. "What?" 

"You always follow me. Or look at me." 

"I do not." 

"You followed me and Kenny when we left the school. You showed up when I was trying to apologize for you, you followed me to the music room yesterday..." 

"I don't trust Kenny is all." he stated. I left it at that, since I knew he would never tell me anything. Never mind Kenny, I could never tell what  _Craig_ was thinking. 

The rest of lunch was another piano practice. He attempted teaching me more about music theory, but I stopped paying attention when he started showing me the chords on piano. He seemed to notice, since he stopped and picked up a music book instead. 

When it was almost time for class, he took the music book and put it away. 

"Do you have any plans tonight?" he asked 

"Huh?" 

"So we can practice." 

"Oh..." I nodded "I'm going to Kevin's for a sleepover." 

"Any plans for the weekend?" 

I shook my head. "None, I don't think." 

"Okay. Visit my house tomorrow." 

"Wait, what time?" 

"Any. I'll be there all day." 

"...Okay." 

He started towards the exit of the music room, but I stopped him by shouting

"Wait, Craig!" 

He turned around. "What?" 

"Thanks. For, you know, teaching me." 

He gave me a blank stare. "Why are you thanking me?"

"Because! I was having trouble and you're helping."

He gave me a confused stare. "It's no trouble. I had nothing to do anyway." I wasn't sure how to feel about that statement. "Plus, I... I don't mind teaching you, okay? Don't think you're a burden or anything." 

I nodded, a warm, fuzzy feeling overtaking me.


	4. Chapter Four

I met Kevin in front of the school at the end of the day. He was talking to Scott, but when he saw me, he gestured for me to join them. I walked over to them. 

"Ready for another sleepover?" he asked

"Yeah, 'course." I replied

"Okay, let's go!" 

We all walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive. Kevin chattered excitedly about how much fun we were going to have while we waited and during the whole bus ride. 

At his stop, the three of us got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to his house. He opened his front door and walked in. Scott and I followed. Kevin hung up his coat, and greeted his parents happily. He led us to his room upstairs. It was the same as I remembered it, dark blue walls, movie posters scattered all over the walls, red curtains over his window, and a row of action figures on his bookshelf in the back of the room. He had a TV on the right wall, across from a turquoise love seat.  

Kevin and I sat on the love seat, while Scott sat in front of us on the floor. 

"So... how's Craig?" asked Kevin mischievously 

"Dude, shut up." I pushed him lightly, causing him to laugh. 

"Is he everything you dreamed of? Does he make your heart flutter? Is he handsome yet mysterious?" 

"I said shut up." I paused before adding "And only two of those things are accurate." 

"Aw, our little Tweek is in love. He's growing up!" Kevin patted Scott's shoulder 

"I'm tho proud of our boy." joked Scott

I rolled my eyes at the two. 

"I'm happy you approve of our relationship, mom and dad." I said sarcastically

"Who's the mom?" asked Kevin

"Huh?" 

"You said mom and dad. Which one of us is the mom?" 

"Obviouthly you." stated Scott "You're the most feminine person here." 

"I'm not feminine! I'm flamboyant." 

"You're obnoxious either way." 

Kevin scoffed "Excuse me! I'm getting a divorce! And I'm going to win custody over our son!" 

"I've only had a family for a few minutes and it's already broken." I faked a sad voice 

"I'm going to beat you in court!" 

"What ith happening?" 

We all started laughing. Afterwards, Kevin slapped his hands together. 

"So! Details." he said

"There's nothing to say. He's just teaching me piano. We're not friends or anything." 

"Right, 'cause you're  _boy_ friends." 

I snorted. "As if." 

"You dated before." 

"No we didn't. I told you, that was just for show." 

"That's what you think." 

"Dude, my mom said that yesterday. So you're the mom."

"Dammit!" he cursed, making Scott laugh

"So anyway, how about we play video games or watch a movie?" I suggested

"You're just saying that to change the subject." stated Kevin

"Yep. So what do you want to do?" 

"We can play Mario Kart." offered Kevin

"Dude, you only want to play that because you know you'll win." Scott pointed out

"Yeah, you always win every race." I agreed

"Well excuse me for being the best." 

"You aren't excused." 

"Rude. Come on, let's play!" 

"Fine. But at least try to go easy." 

"Deal!" 

Kevin put the Mario Kart disk in the Wii and grabbed three remotes. He handed them to us. He turned on the TV and sat back down next to me. 

He wanted to make it as difficult as possible, but after some negotiations we agreed on 150cc. He was player one, so he made all of the decisions. He chose 'race', and we picked our characters. He was Waluigi, I was Toad and Scott was Mario. Kevin picked the levels, much to Scott and I's dismay, and of course he chose one with Rainbow Road. 

As we expected, Kevin won first place in each race. I came close to beating him in the third race, but I fell off before I could, and ended up fourth. 

By the time the last race was done, I dropped my remote on the couch and raised my arms in defeat. 

"I give up. I knew you would win." I said in slight annoyance. 

"Oh come on, don't be mad!" Kevin snickered "You can't help that you're worse than me." 

"Put on a damn movie or something. I refuse to play more." 

"Someone's in a bad mood." 

"Sure. Now put on a movie." 

"Fine,  _master_." 

Kevin begrudgingly stood up and searched his pile of movies for one to watch. 

"How about this one?" I didn't even look at the movie he had in his hands.

"Sure." I said

He grinned and put it in the DVD player. He changed the TV's channel and I saw the menu for the first Spider-Man movie. 

"I didn't know you liked Spider-Man." I said 

"Dude, I love Marvel. How could you not know this?" 

"It never came up. And if it did, I wasn't listening." 

He gasped in offence. "I thought we were best friends!" 

"Then you thought wrong." I joked

He began to tear up, and unsure of whether or not it was real, I added:

"Dude, I'm just kidding. Of course you're my best friend." 

Kevin's face lit up, and he played the movie. 

Throughout the whole thing, his eyes sparkled. He would jump out of his seat whenever there was an action scene, as if he'd never seen the movie before. But I was sure he had, considering how long ago it came out. I almost laughed at his excitement. 

I didn't really like the movie, but I pretended I did for Kevin's sake. When the credits started, it was like a weight lifted off of my shoulders. At that point, Kevin's mom had called us down for supper. We collectively stood up and rushed downstairs. We were all obsessed with his mom's cooking. 

Scott was the first to eat, and I noticed he hadn't eaten in a while. I knew he had to eat because of his diabetes, and he snacked on a few things while we were playing Mario Kart and watching Spider-Man, but he didn't have much. 

We all dug in quickly, though. It was amazing, as expected. However, she urged us to slow down. Kevin's parents seemed to be the only ones at the table who were eating like normal humans. 

We eventually did slow down, but we were still scarfing it down. She shook her head in amusement. 

"So where is everyone sleeping tonight?" she asked

"They can share my bed. I'll sleep on the couch in my room." said Kevin

She nodded. "Okay." 

The rest of dinner was just small talk, and when we were done eating she took our plates and we went back upstairs. 

That night, Kevin's suggestion is what we went with. He slept on the couch and Scott and I shared his bed. Of course, I didn't sleep that night. I didn't want to risk scaring everyone if I had a nightmare and woke up screaming. So I simply lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The pattern of stars was growing too familiar. Every night that I had a sleepover here, I was staring at the same fake stars. The fact that the ceiling had never changed throughout Kevin's childhood kind of comforted me. I hated change, I liked things staying the way they were. Big changes were too stressful. 

I pondered life and its changes throughout the night, and at around eight, Scott started to wake up. After blinking sleep out his eyes, he smiled sheepishly. 

"Mornin'." he said

"Morning." I replied

He sat up and stretched. "How long have you been up?" 

"Oh, a little while." I lied, not wanting him to worry for me. 

"Hm." he nodded

By our feet, Kevin yawned loudly. He sat up from his couch. 

"G'morning losers." he greeted jokingly

"Morning, dork." I retorted happily

He stuck his tongue out at me and stretched his arms. "How did you guys sleep?" 

"Fine." I said as Scott said "Good." 

"That's good. C'mon, let's get breakfast." 

Kevin led the way downstairs and we ate cereal. After I was finished, I rinsed out my bowl and set it in the sink. 

"I should go home." I said 

"Already? Okay... do you want to borrow some clothes?" offered Kevin

"No thanks. I slept all night in them, I can manage to wear them for the walk home." 

Kevin nodded. "Well, bye. See you Monday." 

"Bye Kevin. Bye Scott." 

They waved in farewell. I put on my shoes and left the house. The morning air was chilly. 

I walked home, since I only lived a couple houses down from Kevin. 

When I got home, the main floor was empty. I assumed my mom was still asleep. I took off my shoes silently and got ready quickly. I attempted to put on my favourite green button-up shirt, but I failed to button it up as always. I kept it on and just threw on a blue vest on top of it. I wore jeans again and white socks. 

I decided to wait a couple hours before visiting Craig's. 

I was going to need a lot of time to prepare myself to face the Tucker family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while. I haven't had much spare time to write. Anyway hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter Five

At ten, I decided I was ready enough to face Craig's family. I left the house in a rush and kissed my mom (who was awake at this point)'s cheek in goodbye. I remembered Craig's house was just across the street from mine. 

I walked as slow as I could to waste time. I wasn't as prepared as I thought to meet the Tuckers. When I did reach the house, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

The door swung open quickly, and I was met with an intimidating stare. It belonged to Thomas Tucker, Craig's dad. He had balding red hair, and wore a blue vest and brown pants. He was easily over six feet tall, and I cowered under his gaze. 

"Who're you?" he asked in his deep, nasally voice

"Um, Tweek, sir. Is Craig home?" 

His face turned into one of recognition. He didn't look too impressed, though. "He's in his room." he muttered, opening the door wider. 

"Thanks." 

I rushed up the stairs and found myself in front of Craig's closed door. I heard mumbling voices, one belonged to a girl and one to a boy. I knocked. 

The door was opened slowly, and Ruby's head poked out to see who was there. I noticed her strawberry blonde hair was let out. 

"Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded 

"I'm Tweek. Don't you remember me?" I replied

The door opened wider and Ruby narrowed her eyes angrily at me. Behind her, Craig was sat on his bed. "Tweek?" she asked 

"Yeah." 

Ruby didn't hesitate at that moment to slap me in the face. Craig seemed to notice, since he dragged a cursing, angry Ruby away from me. 

"What the hell was that?" he hissed to her

"I was doing what you don't have the balls to do." she replied angrily

 He ushered her out of his room and locked her out. "Are you okay?" he asked in a blank tone

I was holding my face at this point, where Ruby had hit me. "Yeah, just surprised."

He looked me over for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Hey! What are you laughing at?" I demanded angrily

"You, obviously. Your face was priceless." he explained, still laughing

"It hurt, okay? And stop laughing!"

He slowly stopped laughing, but when he saw my angry face he only snickered. 

"Asshole." I muttered

When he actually stopped laughing, he took a look at my hair. "When's the last time you got your hair cut?" he asked, taking a strand in his hand.

I pushed his hand away. "I haven't let anything but a barrette touch my hair in years."

"You should let me cut it." 

"You? No way. I'm not letting you get scissors anywhere near my head."

"I'm good with hair. I did mine," he gestured to the small part of hair he dyed blond, "and I dyed your hair for you when we were metrosexual."

"That's different. First of all, it's hair dye. I don't want you to have scissors anywhere near me! Also, that was before you decided to become a dick."

"I didn't become a dick, you did."

"Look, are you going to tutor me, or can I spend time with the family I have left today?"

He made a face that showed realisation. "Oh. Yeah. I found a music book that I used when I was first learning piano."

He picked up a book that had the cover taped on. I noticed it was slightly damaged. "It looks old." I noted

"It is old. But it's reliable."

He brought me to his piano and put the book up. He opened it to the first page.

"A lot of the beginning is just music theory. You can read through that or whatever." he explained

I nodded and started reading the first page. But when I was reading the last paragraph, I noticed tiny bite marks on the bottom of the page. "What's that?" I asked him, gesturing to the marks.

He looked where I was pointing and pulled an annoyed face. "It's a bite mark."

"Who bit it?"

He paused before saying in an angry voice: "Stripe."

He seemed annoyed, so I decided to drop it this time. I continued reading the book, until it got to the music sheet part. I told Craig this.

"Okay. Try to play that song." he pointed to the first one on the page.

"Fine."

I played the first song. It was plain, boring. It consisted of only quarter notes and half notes. There was no key signature. I found it way too easy to play, since it was just basic things that every pianist could do with their eyes closed. I explained to Craig that the main thing I had trouble with was coordination, but he simply brushed me off and said "we'll get to that".

By the time I finished the second page, I was fed up with the simplicity. I expressed it to Craig, and he only got mad at me and flipped to the last page.

"If it's so easy, then play this. Do it." he ordered

I looked at the page, and it was full of eighth notes, sixteenth notes and a key signature I didn't know existed. I had no idea there could be more than two flats. "I was saying that _that_ page, the one you were making me play was too easy."

He rolled his eyes at me, making me growl in annoyance. "You're obviously a beginner. You have to start from the _beginning_."

"Don't underestimate me! I can play more than just...  _that_." 

"We're learning my way." 

And that was that. He refused to skip even one page. He guided me through it, but he was annoyed the whole time. 

By the time we had played all of the songs up to page ten, I was fed up with Craig's attitude. 

I maneuvered my way off of the piano bench. 

"I'm leaving. You're being a brat, and your dad and sister seem to hate me. How many times has she banged on your door demanding to let her beat me up?" I asked in annoyance

"Sixteen." he stated "And fine. Leave. You don't have to come back, either." 

I froze. "What?" 

"I said leave. Don't come back if you hate the way I teach so much. I'll leave you alone at school, too. Whatever. Just go." 

"Okay, what has gotten into you?" 

He stared at the ground with a bowed head. I couldn't see his face, but by his clenched fist I could tell he was angry. "Nothing. Leave me alone." 

"Craig..." 

"I said leave me!" 

I jumped at his sudden loud tone, and I heard Ruby start walking away from his room slowly. After my sudden shock, I only scowled at him. "Now listen to me! I refuse to leave you when you're acting like this! Exactly why are you so mad at me?" I demanded in an equally loud tone

"Why did you have to..." his voice trailed off, and he turned his back to me. 

He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. 

"Just... go. I'll see you at school on Monday, okay?" 

At his pitiful appearance, I wanted to just place a comforting hand on his shoulder and tell him that everything was okay. But I refused. I couldn't let him win, whatever we were fighting. 

Craig's door slowly unlocked from the outside. I turned around and Craig looked up. Craig's mom stood at the door, with a sad expression on her face. 

"What happened?" she asked "I heard shouting." 

"Nothing, mom." replied Craig "Just an argument. We didn't start fighting with our fists yet." 

"Okay, why were you fighting?" 

Craig only had to give her one look before she was at his side, rubbing his back comfortingly. 

"You should probably go." she suggested

I nodded slowly. "See you Monday, Craig..."

I didn't get a response. 

I left his room with a lot of questions on my mind. By the time I was at the house's front door, I heard someone call for me. I turned around to see Craig's mom with a book in her hands. 

"Craig wanted to give this to you to borrow." she handed him the music book they had been using. "He also said to apologize for the way he acted. He's just going through a hard time." 

"Craig wanted to apologize?" I asked in disbelief

"Yes. Oh, and, here." she held out the book for me, and I accepted it. 

"Well, tell him I said thanks." 

She smiled at me. "I will. See you later, Tweek." 

I smiled back and left the house. 

When I left, I took a long, deep breath. 

That was a lot more than I expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow drama
> 
> Ok I wanted to ask something(s) for the readers: 
> 
> 1\. I was thinking of adding some Stolovan subplot, but I'm not sure how many people like it. Should I add it?
> 
> And 2. Should I spend more time to make longer chapters, or make quick, short chapters that only take a day or two to write? 
> 
> I'd appreciate any responses! Feel free to respond at any time.


	6. Chapter Six

The rest of my weekend was fairly uneventful. After the whole ordeal at the Tuckers', I called Kevin and explained it all. When I finished telling him, he only squealed about how cute Craig and I were. So I hung up on him. 

Monday came quicker than I expected, and I wasn't looking forward to school. But I got up early, failed at buttoning up my shirt and prepared myself for school anyway. 

I waited at the bus stop, and Kevin and Craig were already there. I greeted Kevin quietly and Craig and I ignored each other. When the bus pulled up, Kevin and a few others got on first, and Craig and I were left last. We both tried to go on at the same time, so Craig flipped me off, but let me go on first anyway. I smiled to myself and sat next to Kevin. 

"You need to stop hanging up on me and ignoring me." stated Kevin as I sat down

"You need to stop fangirling over me and Craig." I retorted 

"As if." 

At the school, I followed Kevin to our group of friends today. I was unsure of whether or not to go to the music room after what happened on Saturday, and in the end I decided not to. 

"How was the sleepover?" asked Jason

"It was great!" replied Kevin, then beginning to explain in great detail what happened. 

While he talked, I looked around the area. People chattered happily in their normal groups. I spotted Stan, Kenny and Butters watching Cartman and Kyle argue in annoyance. They probably had to deal with a lot of that. I also noticed Craig having a seemingly normal conversation with Clyde, Token and Jimmy. I saw what seemed like Jimmy cracking a joke, followed by the others' laughter. There was also some of the cheerleaders, Wendy Testaburger, Bebe Stevens, Red Tucker (Craig's cousin), Nichole Daniels, Annie Knitts and Heidi Turner. 

"Sounds fun." said Jason after Kevin's rant. 

"Affirmative!" replied Kevin

"Nerd." I joked

"How am I a nerd?" 

"No one says affirmative. Except for nerds." 

"That was unnecessary. And hurtful." 

Kevin crossed his arms and looked away from me. I rolled my eyes. "What have I done? I'm a monster." I said sarcastically

"Yes, you are." replied Kevin in a more serious tone than I liked, "But I'll forgive you this time." 

"Wow, why thank you Kevin." 

"You're welcome." 

We continued to chat until a loud scream was heard, followed by crying. Everyone in the school looked in the direction of the sound. And of course, it was Cartman. He was holding one of his arms, whining loudly. He started to run off from his group of friends, being followed by a fuming Kyle. 

The rest of his friends walked up to us. 

"Hey." greeted Stan 

"Hi..." replied Kevin in a suspicious tone

"What do you guys want?" asked Scott

"Considering what just happened, and since Kenny seems to be friends with Tweek, we figured we'd say hi." explained Stan

"You almost never talk to us." pointed out Jason

"And Kyle and fatass fight all the time." I added "So why is this time different?" 

"Is it so hard to believe that we just wanted to say hi?" 

"Yes." replied Scott, followed by sounds of agreement

"Well that's okay! We can just leave. Come on, Stan." Butters reached for Stan's wrist 

"We didn't say you had to leave." I stated

Butters smiled sheepishly and released Stan. 

"So what happened there anyway?" asked Kevin 

"Oh, Cartman just said something insensitive about Jews and got Kyle angry. Then he challenged him to fight and after one punch he started crying." explained Stan

"That sounds like every fight between them ever." I said 

"Yeah, why can't they stop fighting for once? They might actually get something out of their relationship. Whatever that relationship is." agreed Kevin

I, surprised by Kevin's seriousness, nodded in agreement. 

"It's probably similar to Tweek and Craig's rivalry." Kenny spoke up 

"Huh? Why are you bringing us into this?" 

"Well, you two constantly argue, just because both of you refuse to back down and just not let your pride get in your way. If you didn't argue you might actually find you like Craig's calm personality." 

I huffed. "As if." 

Kenny just shrugged. 

We continued to talk, with me avoiding talking about Craig and I. By the time the first bell was about to ring, we said our goodbyes and went to our lockers. Stan walked with me, since our lockers were in the same direction. For most of the walk, it was awkward silence.

"You should really give Craig a chance. I think you two would make a good pair." said Stan suddenly

"Thanks but no thanks." I replied

"I think he really likes you. He says that he finds you annoying, but at lunch he always talks about you and stares at you."

"Goodbye, Stan." 

"Fine. 'Bye." 

Stan continued on his way to his locker quickly, and I stopped at mine. When I opened it, I rested my head on it and rubbed my face. I grabbed my books and went to my first class. The seating wasn't arranged, so I took the seat next to Kenny today. He smiled at me and I returned one. There was a kid who looked confused about where I was sitting, but then took the spot that I usually sat in. I realised in that moment how little people in this school I actually knew. I only knew the people who came from South Park Elementary. I sighed. It wasn't like it actually mattered anyway. 

* * *

 At lunch, I went to sit at the table I usually sat at after buying some food. To my surprise, none of my friends showed up. So I spent a lot of time sitting awkwardly on my own at a table. I felt like everyone was staring at me, judging me, but when I looked around, everyone was too busy with their conversations to notice me. 

Then, to my surprise, Craig and Clyde came to sit at my table with me.

"Hi." I greeted them suspiciously

"Hey." replied Clyde "We're here because Craig desperately wanted to sit here." 

"I did not. It was your idea." argued Craig

"Yes, but when I came up with the idea you were practically begging to come along." 

"It's okay, I dont really care whose idea it was." I intervened before they started fighting. "Why are you here anyway?" 

"I told you, it's because-" Craig elbowed Clyde before he could finish. 

"Clyde felt bad seeing you all alone, so he decided to sit with you." 

"Yeah. You're friends with Kevin, so you can be friends with me, too." offered Clyde

"Thanks." 

"No big deal. Where is Kevin anyway?" 

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since this morning." 

"Huh." 

Clyde kept the conversation alive, until I spotted, from the corner of my eye, a familiar head of black hair. 

I waved Kevin over to our normal table, and I saw Scott, Francis and Jason with him. Kevin skipped over to our table, and squeezed his way between Clyde and I. Craig moved off his spot beside Clyde and sat across from me, leaving more sitting space for them. I found the action strangely considerate of him. 

Jason, Francis and Scott all sat on Craig's side. 

"Hey Clyde!" greeted Kevin cheerfully "What are you two doing here?" 

"They felt bad for me, since you guys left me on my own." I explained passive aggressively

Kevin either didn't notice my tone or didn't care, because he just shrugged me off and said "Oh." 

"Where were you guys?" asked Clyde, mirroring my thoughts

"Just the library. Sorry Tweek, we thought you were going to ditch the cafeteria again." explained Kevin

"You're acting calm, and explaining things rationally." I noted "What's going on?" 

"Why wouldn't I?" he laughed nervously

"Because you usually yell things, usually things that don't make sense." 

"I don't yell! I just... have a louder voice than some." 

"Stop yelling at me, mom." I covered my ears

"I'm not the mom!" Kevin crossed his arms and pouted. 

I looked across the table at Craig, and he seemed slightly amused at our banter. 

"What are you guys fighting about?" asked Clyde "Because I have no idea what's going on." 

"You and me both." I replied

Craig's face suddenly morphed into one of confusion. 

"What is it?" I asked him

"What?" he asked

"Why do you look confused? Did you see something? Where is it?" 

He shook his head, a hint of a smile on his face. "Never mind. It's nothing." 

"What? If you saw something crazy you have to tell me." 

"Why should I?" 

"Because that's your boyfriend." interrupted Kevin 

Craig and I flipped him off, then noticing this, lowered our hands. 

"Giving people the middle finger is my thing." he muttered 

"Too bad." 

Craig looked at me again, the confused expression on his face returning. I had to hold back from jumping across the table to attack him. 

"What is with that look?" I demanded angrily 

"Don't worry about it Tweek, no one can tell what he's thinking. He probably just has stupid shit on his mind. Like animals, or dicks. Cause he's gay." Clyde laughed at his 'joke', but no one else did. Until Kevin snickered quietly. 

"I'm leaving." stated Craig, standing up. 

"Wait, Craig, come on! I'm fine with you being gay, really!" 

Craig stormed off. He looked really mad, like he was on Saturday. I contemplated following him, my eyes stuck on the door he exited. 

"What are you waiting for? Go chase after your man!" teased Kevin, pushing me lightly. 

I pushed him harder, making him collide with Clyde. While the two were distracted by the awkwardness of that moment, I stood up and ran after Craig. 

When I was out of the cafeteria, I couldn't tell which direction Craig had went in. That is, until I heard a locker being slammed across the hall. I followed the sound, and saw Craig with a pained look on his face, laying his head on a locker. I approached him quietly. 

"Craig...?" I asked quietly

"Leave me alone, Tweek." he replied angrily 

"What's wrong now? Are you mad that he called you gay? You know everyone in this town thinks you are." 

"That's not what I'm mad about. And fuck you, too." 

I couldn't hold back the smile on my face. He looked over at me and sighed. 

"You're oddly calm when you're talking with your friends." he said suddenly

"What? Well, obviously. I've known them for a while. And I'm comfortable with them." 

"And you even are now. I think..." 

"You think what?" 

"Nothing. Why did you follow me? Didn't you get mad at me when I did that?" 

"You were mad, and I wanted to know why. You never explained why you were mad when you basically kicked me out of your house this weekend." 

"It doesn't matter." 

"Yes it does!" 

"I said it doesn't fucking matter, okay?" 

Craig turned his whole body around to face me, fuming. It didn't intimidate me, though. "Clearly it does. If you're going to get all pissy with me, at least give me a reason!" 

"I don't need a reason! Maybe I just hate you!" 

Those words rang and stung more than they should have. I backed away a few steps. "Right. You hate me. We hate each other. I know. I don't care. Ever since you betrayed me in fifth grade, I hate you too." 

I spun on my heel and speed walked away. He didn't make any move to stop me. 

I decided to go into the men's bathroom. There were a couple people there, but I ignored them. I was entirely focused on my thoughts. 

_Why do we always fight? I've almost entirely forgotten about fifth grade. Why do we hate each other again? Do I hate him? Does he really talk about me all the time?_

My thoughts were spiralling out of control. I was practically hyperventilating at this point. 

_"You two constantly argue, just because both of you refuse to back down and just not let your pride get in your way. If you didn't argue you might actually find you like Craig's calm personality."_

_Stop thinking. Stop it. I don't like that emotionless zombie._

I looked at myself in the mirror. My twitching was back, my eyes wild. I couldn't even focus on how messed up my hair was, or how awful I was at buttoning up shirts. 

A hand grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the bathroom distracted me for a second. 

I knew immediately who it was. The exact person who constantly invaded my thoughts. One look at his face and I knew instantly, 

"I don't hate you. At all." Craig's words mirrored my thoughts. 

"What? Why not?" 

He shrugged. "I have no reason to. You have every reason to hate me, though." 

"I don't!" I replied quickly "A lot of people have been telling me that we would get a lot more out of a relationship where we don't constantly argue."  _More_ _like one or two._

"We might. But isn't that kind of obvious anyway?" 

"Yeah, kinda." 

Our eyes met, and I saw a smile on his face. I couldn't hold back my own. 

"Why don't we make an effort to get along? Or at least, not be at each others' throats all the time." he suggested 

"But isn't fighting fun?" I asked

"Yeah, it is." he thought for a minute "Why don't we... now hear me out here... just pretend? We can fight in front of other people. So neither of us have to admit that we were wrong." 

"Like how we were fake dating in fourth grade?" 

"Exactly." 

"Huh..." I paused for a moment, looking around the hallways. I saw a couple boys walking in our direction. I looked back up at Craig. I grinned and gestured to the boys. "Well fuck you too, dick!" I shouted, loud enough for them to hear. He seemed to catch on, since he smiled a little in response. 

"I'm not the dick here! You are!" he pushed me lightly. 

The two boys saw us, and slowly walked in the opposite direction.

"Still a great actor."

"And you still suck." I stuck my tongue out at him.

He patted my head, making me annoyed.

"Don't ever do that again." I pushed his hand off. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, fine. But you're coming over to my house today. And you're letting me cut your hair."

"Says who?"

"Me. Meet me in front of the school at the end of the day."

"Oh yeah? I still think you're going to cut me open with your scissors."

"That's your problem." he looked at his phone. "Lunch is almost over. See you then."

"Yeah right!"

He shook his head. "I know you'll be there." he started towards his locker. 

"Doubtful." 

I turned to go to my own locker. 

_I probably am going to meet him, aren't I?_

_Dammit..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, the rivalry is coming to an end! I think it happened pretty quick lol. I'm an impatient person, unfortunately. The heavy drama is going to start soon, too, so look forward to that? 
> 
> The stolovan subplot is also sneaking its way in. I don't want to upset any people who don't like the ship, so if it ruins the story for you, let me know ^^ if anyone does, I'll try to keep it subtle. Thanks for all the support in the comments I've gotten lately!
> 
> Also I'm going on vacation for the next couple days so the story might be slightly delayed ^^; sorry!


	7. Chapter Seven

At the end of the day, Craig was waiting for me at the front of the school as expected. When he saw me leaving the building, he waved and started following me. 

"If I'm visiting your house then I'm bussing there. Just in case people suspect something." I stated

"Fine with me." he replied, stepping farther from me at the bus stop. 

I sat next to Kevin on the bus again. 

"How's Clyde?" I asked, as revenge for him teasing me about Craig. 

"He's good, thanks. I'm going to his house tonight." he replied nonchalantly "We're going to watch movies and play games!" _That's more like Kevin._ I thought

"That's all you ever do." 

"So?" 

"Nothing. Just stating the facts." 

"Good for you. But today will be fun, and you're going to miss it! Ha ha!" 

"Fine by me. If you go to his room, keep the door open." 

"Don't tell me what to do. I'm supposed to be your mother, aren't I?" 

"Right, I'm protecting my mother from Clyde." 

"Clyde is a good man. He'll make a great stepdad for you." 

"So you're already planning on getting married?" 

"I-" Kevin's face turned a dark shade of red "No! Forget it!" 

I had never seen him so flustered. It was pretty amusing. I finally had something to tease _him_ about, that didn't have to do with his geekiness. 

I stood up at our bus stop, but Kevin had to stay seated until Clyde's stop. 

"Have fun with your boyfriend." I teased 

"Back at you." Kevin gestured to Craig, who was waiting for me to get off the bus at our seat. 

I glared at him and walked off of the bus in a huff. I waited until the bus left, and followed Craig to his house. 

"I'll try to keep my family from bothering you this time." he said

"Thanks." I replied

 When he opened the door, a small redhead jumped at him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, and he patted her head, looking away in embarrassment. I smiled at the cuteness of this situation. I never saw Craig as the affectionate type. Ruby's eyes shifted to me, and she pushed Craig away.

" _You_." she hissed

I gripped at my shirt's collar. "Geh- Me?"

"Why are you here? You're not welcome."

"I invited him, Ruby. Leave him be." intervened Craig

"But he-"

Craig pushed Ruby's face away, and she started to yell at him. "But nothing. Leave us be for a bit. He didn't do anything wrong." he then whispered something I couldn't hear to her, and she frowned at him, but walked away nonetheless. 

"That was... unexpected." I noted

"Unexpected how?" he began walking, and I followed.

"Well, for one thing, Ruby's taller than me now, and she's only, what, eleven?"

"We Tuckers are known for our height."

"Yeah. But... why does she hate me again?" I tugged on my shirt.

"Long story. It's my fault. Don't worry about it, though. I'll make sure she at least tries to make nice."

I found myself in Craig's room once again.

"Sit on the piano bench. I use it as a seat for my makeshift salon."

I did as he said, and faced opposite the piano, seeing a long mirror in front of me. "Not a bad makeshift salon." I complimented

"Thanks."

He searched on his desk on the side of his room opposite his bed. He brought a razor and a pair of scissors and set them on his bed.

"When's the last time you washed your hair?"

"I don't know... a couple days ago maybe?"

"I need to wash it. Wait here."

He left the room and returned with a bucket filled with water. "Wouldn't the shower be fine?"

"No."

And so we left it at that. He washed my hair quickly in his bucket and brushed it. I hardly recognised myself in the mirror. My hair, wet and brushed, was past shoulder length. I didn't like the way it looked. "How much you charging for this haircut?"

He snorted in amusement. "Yeah right."

He picked up the razor and began shaving the back of my head. I watched anxiously as my hair fell to the floor. "Aren't you going to ask me what I want my hair to look like?"

"I know what I'm doing. You'll like it."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I've got skills, Tweek Tweak."

_Shit, I really like how he says my name..._ "You better, Tucker. I'm trusting you."

He continued his work, until a voice shouted "We have to leave for the orthodontist soon, Craig!"

"I know, mom! Give me a few, will you?" Craig shouted in response

"You're finally getting your teeth fixed?" I wondered aloud

"Don't pick on my teeth, twitches."

"Don't call me that, dick."

"I'm not a dick, you are."

I glared at him through the mirror, and he only smiled in amusement. It didn't take long for him to complete the look.

"What do you think? I'm good, right?" he smirked

I looked it over in the mirror, turning my head in different directions. It was long in the front, and short in the back, parted in the middle. "What can't you do? Geez."

"I can't..." he paused "I can't act like a normal person."

"Neither can Kevin, and he can't do hair or play piano professionally."

"I don't play professionally, I'm still learning. And Kevin can be normal sometimes, he acts normal in front of Clyde to impress him."

"How did you notice that?"

"I'm an observer. I rarely interact, though. Which is why," he fluffed my hair, "I never know how. So I didn't know how to handle my relationship with you."

"Yeah, I'm not usually good at interacting either. Especially with my current friends. They're all into comic books and old movies and video games, while I like to sit at home and play on my phone while talking to my mom. I never know how to talk to them. It's like they're speaking a different language from me."

"You like boring?"

I nodded. "I don't like things like adventures. That's way too much pressure, man!"

"I like boring too."

We smiled calmly at each other in the mirror.

"Time to go, Craig!" his mom called

"I'm coming, damn! Give me a second!" Craig responded angrily

"You know, you should really be nicer with your family. You never know what could happen to them. Plus, they provide for you and everything."

"The Tuckers don't do nice. We flip each other off at the dinner table, and talk casually about things most people try to hide. There's no affection here."

"That seems kind of sad."

"It's normal for me. I don't exactly have parents who watch my every move and kiss me goodbye before I leave for school."

"I don't either!" I retorted "I hardly have any family left, anyway. You should just appreciate what you have. That's all I meant."

"What do you mean hardly any family?"

"I just have my mom."

"What-"

"I should go. You have an appointment too, don't you? I'll see you later."

"Wait, Tweek-"

"Leave it be, okay? I'll tell you when I can."

His face showed concern, but he nodded anyway. He walked me to his front door.

"Thanks for the haircut." I said as I exited his house.

"No problem. It was bothering me anyway."

"You sure you don't want a tip or anything?"

"No, you're a... I know you. It'd feel wrong to charge you."

"That's sweet. Um... anyway, see you tomorrow. Good luck."

"Thanks."

We waved goodbye and I went to my house across the street. I watched as his mom's car slowly drove off into the distance. I turned around and opened my house's door. I was only met with silence and all the lights turned off. I closed the door slowly and quietly. My mom should've been off of work by now, so I wasn't sure where she was. I checked my phone, but she didn't send me any message. I looked around my whole first floor, tiptoeing around mutely. I was only looking so thoroughly because it was unlike her to not come home after work without sending me any message. What if she was kidnapped? Or killed? Maybe someone's keeping her hostage and torturing her-! 

My train of thought halted when something pulled me down. The person shushed me.

"What's going on?" I whispered

"Be very quiet, Tweek, I heard something." it was my mom, barely audible.

I knew now where I got my paranoia from. "Heard what?"

"It was a crash and then a shout. I think someone broke in while we were out."

"What? Who? Why?"

"Shh! I don't know, but stay quiet."

I did as she said, but after a few moments, slow footsteps made their way down our stairs. I fumbled around in my pockets for my phone. I texted Kevin, since I knew he lived nearby. 

**Tweek T: Help, someone broke in**

It took him a long time to respond, I assumed since he was with Clyde.  _Right, he's with Clyde. He isn't anywhere near here._

**Kevin S: Wtf? Call the police dude**

**Tweek T: I'm too nervous. The person might hear me.**

**Kevin S: Fine, just stay calm, ok? I'll ask Esther to stop by. She's at home right now.**

**Tweek T: Thanks**

It only took a few minutes for Kevin's twin sister, Esther Stoley, to barge into our house.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she called

I heard quick footsteps scurry off into hiding.

"Tweek? Miss Tweak?" 

I peeked around the corner of the kitchen arc into the living room. I recognised the tall figure, with long black hair and bright clothing. I wasn't surprised she was shouting in the house that might have a murderer or robber in it, she was always very confident and brave. I admired her for that as a kid.

"Anyone there?" 

We met eyes, and she speed walked to my side. She pulled me up and hugged me. She was another person who happened to be taller than me, but she was a fairly tall person anyway. 

We had been friends in elementary school and she was even my best friend (right after Kevin, of course) in middle school. But after high school started, she started hanging out with other people and we slowly grew apart. We would still talk occasionally, though.

"Are you okay? Kevin said you were in danger." 

I wrapped my arms around her. "I don't know! This all happened so quickly! I think someone's hiding in here!"

"Okay, that does it. You and your mom are staying at our house. I don't want my Tweek in danger." she pinched my cheek affectionately.

I smiled at her and pulled her hand off of my face. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. It's what friends are for."

My mom stood up and thanked her as well. 

Esther led the way to the front door, us following. But right before I was able to leave, a hand grabbed my mouth and a foot kicked the door closed, then locked Esther out. 

"Tweek? Tweek!" she pounded on the door.

The mystery person dragged me and my mom away from the door. I kicked and fought, but to no avail. The person grabbed something I didn't know the name of, and shoved it in my mouth. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was Esther's screams and her fists pounding against the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the drama begins. Whaaa
> 
> On another note, I can't express how much I appreciate the nice comments I've gotten. Really, they make all of this worth it. I've never gotten such support on anything I've made, haha. I'll make an effort to have longer chapters and I'll try not to wait days before updating... lol


	8. Chapter Eight

I woke up feeling more than confused. The ground beneath me was carpeted, and I felt like it was moving. I looked around me.

 _Oh_ _,_ I thought,  _I'm in a car._

What the hell? 

I tried to sit up, but something was tied to my wrists and ankles. I felt myself starting to go into panic mode. I began shaking and twitching. I was being kidnapped? By who? I tried to think of how a normal person, without a paranoia disorder, would handle this situation.  _Esther, or Craig... what would they do?_

I wiggled my wrists and managed to get them out of the rope. I was thankful that I had such tiny wrists at this moment. I slowly and quietly went to untie the rope around my ankles. I now had to find a way out of this car. Unfortunately, none of my plans had an outcome that had me uninjured. The only rational plan I could come up with was to just tuck and roll. I crawled to the right side of the car, and took a glance at the front seat. It was nighttime, so I couldn't make out who the driver was. I also saw someone passed out in the passenger's seat. I wished I could save them, but I couldn't think of how. 

I returned my focus to the car door. I slowly reached for the handle, and took a deep breath. The car was easily going over the speed limit, whatever it may have been, so I knew I was going to get hurt. But I decided in that moment that I had to be brave.

In a flash, I pulled the door open and tumbled out. The car screeched to a halt and I began to run. I ran for my life, faster than I ever had before. I could make out the South Park sign in the distance, and I was relieved I wasn't too far from home. I could make out two human figures by the sign. 

I fell into the first person I saw. 

"Tweek, what the hell are you doing? Kinny, get this fag off of me."  _Cartman._

"Tweek? What's wrong? What are you doing out here?" I recognised that quiet, high pitched voice as Kenny's. 

I shifted so that I was now in Kenny's arms. "I need help. Someone tried to kidnap me! And they have my mom!" 

"What? What the hell happened? Why were you kidnapped?" 

"Are you just exaggerating? Maybe it was nothing." Cartman shrugged

"No! I just jumped out of a moving car!" 

"Shit, dude, are you okay?" asked Kenny with concern

"No!"

"Here, I'll take you to my house. Cartman, I'll see you later."

Cartman shrugged and went in a different direction from us. Kenny slung my arm around his shoulder and helped me to his house. Luckily, it wasn't too far away. We got to his house, which was slowly falling apart. He had to carefully and quietly lead me to his room, then placed me on his bed.

"Thanks for helping me." I said quietly

Kenny began rummaging in his closet. "No problem, man. You're my friend, so I want to help you."

"What were you doing out there anyway?"

"Nothing important." he turned from his closet, medical bandages in hand. "What were you doing jumping out of a car?"

"I don't know..." I replied honestly "I was at my house... and Esther was there, but she got kicked out, then someone dragged me away and... I think they drugged me, and I woke up in a car."

"Dude, that's insane. You should stay here for a bit. It's not great here, but it's probably safer than your house. Do you have any idea who did it?"

"I don't have a clue. And are you sure it's okay if I stay here?"

"I don't mind at all. My family shouldn't bother you. Where are you hurt?"

"Um... mostly my leg." I gestured to my right leg. 

"Okay." 

Kenny pulled up my pant leg and wrapped his bandage around my knee. I saw, for a brief second, my knee that was scraped, bruised and bleeding.

"You should be fine. I don't think it's broken."

"Thanks a lot, Kenny. Are you a doctor?"

He grinned. "Nah. I just like taking care of people. Like my sister."

"That's nice... Oh, do I have my phone...?"

I felt around in my pockets, and felt the familiar object. I turned the phone on, and the battery was low. I had a bunch of texts from Esther and Kevin. I made a group chat with them and told them I was fine. 

"You can sleep on my bed. I'll sleep on the floor. I don't want to sleep on the couch because... well, I think you know why." Kenny offered 

"Oh, no! I don't want to take your bed. I can sleep on the floor."

"It's fine, Tweek. I don't want to force someone who was hurt to sleep on the floor."

"But..." 

"Tweek..."

"Fine. We can share the bed if you want, though."

I moved to the far side of the bed, and he sat next to me. "Okay. You should sleep, though." 

"I will."

I wasn't sure how true that was. I looked at my phone, and I had new messages from the Stoley twins. 

**Kevin S: Wtf? Where are you? What happened?**

**Esther S: TWEEK! WHO KIDNAPPED MY BOY?**

I shook my head at Esther's message.

**Tweek T: Guys chill out. I'm fine now, and I'm with Kenny. I'll talk about it tomorrow.**

I turned my phone off and I lay on my back. I couldn't see anything around this pitch black room. I looked to my side, and Kenny was already asleep. I was still shaking from fear because of the events that just happened. But I was drowsy anyway, so I closed my eyes. And to my surprise, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat, and I sat up quickly. I had another nightmare that night. I couldn't even remember what happened in it, I just knew it was terrifying and made my heart race. I looked around the unfamiliar room, and remembered that I was in Kenny's house. I looked to my side, and didn't see Kenny there. I stood up shakily and took a moment to look around. Many posters of swimsuit models were taped on his wall, and I was pretty sure I saw a rat scurry past my feet, making me jump. 

I heard the bedroom door open. Kenny was there, wearing his parka, but his hood was down. 

"Hey, Tweek. Nice hair by the way." he greeted me 

"Thanks."

"Want to go to school? You can stay here if you don't want to go out yet."

"I'd feel safer at a school full of people than I would alone in your house. No offence."

"None taken. Here, I have a couple spare pairs of clothes."

Kenny tossed me a shirt and pants. "Oh. Okay."

Kenny just grinned and left me in his room to change. I did just that and met him by his front door. 

"Wait up, Kenny! Get over here!" his mom called him. I turned around to see a middle-aged woman with bright red hair, who had the same blue eyes as her son. 

"Fine, mom! What do you want?" 

His mom gestured him to come closer, and he did. She dragged him to the kitchen and began whisper-shouting at him, only for him to fight back. I wasn't sure what they were fighting about, but it looked intense. When they finished fighting, Kenny stormed over to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked

"Fine. Let's go."

Kenny dragged me out of his house and slammed his door behind him. He brought me to the bus stop he usually went to. The only people there were his closest friends, Stan, Kyle and Cartman. 

"Hey Kenny. Hey Tweek." greeted Stan

"Hi." replied Kenny in a grumble

"Wow, what was in your breakfast? Does someone have a sandy vagina today?" teased Cartman

"Shut your fat mouth." Kenny retorted

"See what I mean?"

"Dude, leave him be." Kyle told him with a scowl

"Okay, whoa. What is up with you angry people?"

The bus pulled up, and Kenny continued dragging me. He offered me to sit next to him, but I had to decline. I sat in an empty seat in front of him. I stared out of the window for most of the bus ride, and when we were at the bus stop I recognised as the one I usually waited at, I saw Kevin, Craig and a couple strangers waiting. They stepped on when the bus stopped, and Kevin sat next to me, and Craig sat next to Clyde in front of us.

"Tweek! Are you okay?" Kevin asked worriedly, squeezing me into a hug.

"I'm okay. It's thanks to Kenny that I'm even here right now." I replied

"What even happened? Esther just said you saw someone in your house and they locked her out."

"That's pretty much all. Except... they... I think drugged me and tried to drive me somewhere." 

"What the fuck? How are you not terrified right now? You should go to the police!" 

"I don't have any evidence, and I don't know what the person looked like."

"I'm just glad you're okay... you should stay with someone for a few days. Hell, stay with us."

"You should do that." Kenny spoke up, leaning on our seat "My mom said we can't afford to feed another person. That's why we were fighting this morning."

"Ah, I'm sorry! You fought because of me!" 

"Don't worry about it. We fight all the time anyway."

"That's not good..."

Kenny shrugged. "Whatever. Stay with Kevin. Just stay away from your house."

"Yeah... I'll do that."

We were on the bus for another few minutes, and when we stopped at the school, Kevin kept by my side and we met with our group of friends. Every one of them seemed to know what had happened, since they all asked how I was and were all worrying over me. I didn't know how to react to all of this, so I told them I was fine and tried to change the subject.

I really hoped it wouldn't be like this all day.

* * *

 

I didn't have a moment on my own that day. During first period, Kenny told me to sit by him. Second period, I had multiple friends in that class who told me that I needed to sit close to them.

By lunch, I was already feeling suffocated. I knew they meant well, but it was too much. At lunch, I didn't even bother to stop at the cafeteria for food. I went right to the empty music room. 

I hadn't had a chance to pick up the music book that Craig had lent me, since it was at my house, so I just enjoyed being on my own for once. 

The door creaked open, making me jump. To my luck, it was only Craig.

"Hey." he said quietly, sitting next to me.

"Hi."

"So... I've been hearing rumours. Did something happen to you?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine now." I smiled to assure him "Nice braces by the way."

He ignored me. "What happened then?"

I glared at him. "I've been surrounded by questions and overprotective friends, constantly asking if I'm okay. It's not a big deal, okay? I'll be fine, I'm staying with Kevin for a while."

"Whatever did happen, your friends are just worried about you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do! But it's just suffocating, you know?"

"I know, but... at least you have friends who care about your well-being."

"Yeah, but I also have friends who I always want to impress, and I don't want to worry them."

"You don't have to impress me."

"Yeah, sure..."

I fidgeted with my fingers, beginning to shake.

"The more I think about what happened... the more scared I get." 

"Don't be scared. Whatever happened, it's over now, and everyone's protecting you now."

"Yeah..."

I began blinking away tears, shaking nervously. 

"Why would someone...?"

The tears were flowing freely now. 

"Someone tried to kidnap me, and they even drove out of town!" 

"What the fuck?"

I lay my head on his chest, and he didn't fight me. He even began rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. He rested his chin on my head. I sniffed. "I'm getting tear stains all over your shirt."

"I don't care."

When I was done crying, I looked up at him and forced a smile. "Thanks." 

He smiled sadly at me. "What are friends for?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ! This is the first FanFiction I'm letting the public see loool so I'm kinda nervous. But I hope it was ok! I'll try to update as often as I can  
> Feedback is appreciated!  
> Also I'm probably going to change the title eventually because I'm bad at coming up with them.


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